Mom, you wont believe how cheap this outfit was! I declare as I wave the Bells Outlet bag like a victory banner.
My mother cringes, Inexpensive, not cheap, please.
When writing anything, word choice is a key component. Because of its compact nature, it is even more so with poetry. How the word sounds in relation to the words around it, the point you are trying to make to your reader, and the use of imagery are a few of the reasons why this is so. You can use both denotation and connotation to help you make affective word choices.
Lets start with the easy one: Denotation. Denotation is simply the dictionary meaning of a word. Both the word inexpensive and the word cheap mean not spending much money. However, they have differing connotations. But, lets get back to denotation for a moment before we tackle connotation.
Because the world has access to most written works, it isnt easy to be sure that the word you are using is how you meant it to be taken by your reader. To keep misunderstanding down, check words you arent absolutely sure of in your dictionary you have one of those beside you, right?
No? *gasp*
Well, youre in luck; you can find many free dictionaries online, too.
Connotation is trickier. Not what it is. Thats the easy part. Its is the implied meaning of a word. Its when you see a word and think of its dictionary meaning and start thinking about other meanings or feelings the word may trigger in your mind.
The hard part is using it. Again, the difficulty is taking into account that different regions, countries, and even decades may have different disguised meanings of words. To make the most of it you must consider your audience. Since you can never have everyone understand the implied meaning of each word you write, aim for the majority. If your audience is the teen crowd, and if most of them would understand your implied meaning, then consider it a good word choice. If parents are your audience, then consider if they would understand the hidden meaning of your chosen word.
Lets look at a couple of examples:
My favorites, and probably the easiest to see the connotation of, are colors. In America the color yellow has a connotation of fear, while the color red connotes anger, heat, blood and more. Can you think of some more color examples or does your region have different connotations for these colors? Try to use them to add extra meaning to your poetry.
Done well, connotations can aid in the imagery and add a wonderful depth to your poetry as well as your other written works.
2007 Holly Bliss. All Rights Reserved. This document may be freely redistributed in its unedited form and on the condition that all copyright references are kept intact along with the hyperlinked URLs.
About the Author: Using her writing as paint on the canvas of her life, Holly Bliss is an eclectic writer, newsletter editor and an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Poetry.
Julia Cameron
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